Seven Essentials for Modern Advisor Marketing

Modern advisor marketing, much like love, don’t come easy. It can seem like a daunting task to set a marketing plan in motion for your business, especially if you don’t have much experience with the process. But lucky for you, the eMoney blog is here to help! We compiled some resources that you can use to beef up your marketing in a time when it’s never been more important for advisors to stand out from their competition. There’s something for everyone, from the complete marketing novice to the Don-Draper-In-A-Past-Life copy-writing messiah. So read on—you have a marketing plan that needs improvement.

1. Buyer Personas

According to the Buyer Persona Institute, Buyer Personas are “examples of the real buyers who influence or make decisions about the products, services, or solutions you market.” In simpler terms, they’re descriptions of your “ideal client” from different demographics.

We covered Buyer Personas last summer here on the blog, and with good reason. They’re the best resource to use when planning out your messaging to potential clients. Even better is that they don’t just apply to prospects; they’re just as helpful with marketing to your current clients so you can continue to address their needs throughout their entire relationship with you. And after all, is there anything better than a happy client?

2. Resources to Help Your Writing

We aren’t all naturally gifted writers. As a matter of fact, none of us are—good writing is the result of a lot of work and practice. And sometimes it’s difficult to know if your writing is clear and concise if you don’t have access to an editor like the pros. That’s where the Hemingway Editor comes in. You paste your written content into the app and it specifically tells you what you can change to make your writing easier to read. It’s a huge help when you’re writing content for your website or for marketing materials, since readability is crucial.

Another tool you should check out is the blog on InvestmentWriting.com. It’s packed with blog topic ideas, writing tips, and other helpful content specifically written for financial services professionals who want to make an impact with their marketing content.

3. Professional Video Content

Great written copy is a must when it comes to marketing. But in today’s world, video marketing is just as important. And not just any videos, either—they need to be professional, informative, and polished. This is a field where do-it-yourself won’t cut it; we recommend reaching out for professional guidance to make your video content “pop.” There are sure to be great companies to work with in your area, but if you’re looking for an example check out Jill Addison and Indigo Productions. Companies such as these can put together polished, effective video content for your business.

But if you’re looking for ready-made video content that’s advisor-centric, check out the videos from eMoney’s Advisor Branded Media package. The videos available through this subscription are perfect for any advisor’s website, and come custom-branded with your company’s logo.

4. Social Media Scheduler

As important as being actively engaged on social media is, it’s tough to find time to post to your accounts throughout your workday. That’s why you should integrate a social media management tool into your marketing plan. These tools allow you to schedule out social media posts ahead of time and see the analytics behind the success of your posts, all while aggregating the information from each of your social channels into one handy dashboard for easy viewing and posting. There are a lot of great options to choose from, (Hootsuite, TweetDeck, and SproutSocial come to mind) and Lifehack.org has reviewed many of them. I recommend heading over there and judging for yourself which of these services best fits your needs.

5. Canva

No, that’s not a misspelling of “canvas”—I’m talking about Canva, the online design platform that lets even the most artistically challenged among us put together attractive internet marketing content. Yes, really! I can barely draw a circle and yet even I was able to put together a cool graphic for social media with just a couple of clicks. While utilizing a graphic designer is preferable with some projects—like designing your website, for instance—Canva is perfect when you’re putting together a social media post or email and want it to include an engaging and well-designed graphic. And since pictures dominate social media, you should hop on the Canva bandwagon today.

6. AdvisorTweets.com

It’s a safe bet that you also don’t have time to browse social media for the latest industry news throughout the course of a workday. But it’s important to keep up on these posts so you don’t miss a lot of great insights from industry thought leaders that will help your marketing efforts.

AdvisorTweets.com helps solve this problem. They automatically aggregate the latest tweets from the most influential social media movers and shakers in the advisory business all in one, easy to read feed. While it isn’t a replacement for having a Twitter account, it does make it a lot easier to get a concise snapshot of what’s going on in the industry and features an extensive list of people you should follow on your account.

That’s why we recommend you check out an email marketing service like MailChimp or Constant Contact, which manage your prospect and client lists and send out automated emails. You’re able to keep your business on the minds of prospects and clients alike with minimal effort, all while monitoring the effectiveness of your different email campaigns. How cool is that?
Another great marketing resource for your business? You’re looking at it. No, really—as regular readers can tell you, we have some pretty fantastic marketing resources for advisors right here on the eMoney Advisor Blog. Check out these articles, for instance:

Now that you have all of these resources at your disposal, it’s time to put them to work. Financial advisors have never been more competitive in the way that they market their services, and by not adapting you’re setting yourself (and your business) up to fail. These resources will help you keep your marketing a step ahead of your competitors’ and properly demonstrate the value you bring to your clients.

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Jack Evans is an Internal Training Specialist at eMoney Advisor. A graduate of West Chester University, Jack has never had a piña colada and prefers to avoid getting caught in the rain. That's what umbrellas are for.

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The eMoney Advisor blog is your source for the latest news relevant to the Financial Advisor community. We cover financial trends, advances in technology, and the newest updates to the eMoney platform while providing best practices that will help you grow your business and better serve your clients.